


The Storm Within

by LettersByTheLake



Series: Artist Appreciation [4]
Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LettersByTheLake/pseuds/LettersByTheLake
Summary: When Legend first sees Malon, he mistakes her for someone else.
Relationships: Legend (Linked Universe) & Malon (Legend of Zelda), Legend (Linked Universe)/Marin (Legend of Zelda), Malon (Legend of Zelda)/Time (Linked Universe)
Series: Artist Appreciation [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986214
Comments: 10
Kudos: 85





	The Storm Within

**Author's Note:**

> Emily, this one's for you and inspired by your gorgeous portrait of Malon that can be found [here](https://www.instagram.com/p/CE0mTM5H3_Y/)!

The first time Legend saw Malon, the world stopped. Or at least it seemed that way, like the trees stilled in their swaying and the birds silenced in their singing.

But Malon, with her flowing red hair and bright, intelligent eyes the colour of the sky behind her, wasn’t in fact the girl he loved. It was silly because for a moment his heart leapt, tears formed in his eyes and he was filled with such instantaneous relief to see _her_ that he could have collapsed right there and then, even though he knew how impossible it was.

But Time had been the one to go to her and kiss her, not even a glance directed at Legend, for why would there have been?

He won the bet.

Warriors didn’t understand, he thought, because Warriors had never met a humble, passionate redhead from a small farm of no significance to the world. Warriors had women lining up to be his suitress and that included Princesses and Ladies from long lines of royalty with long shiny hair and soft, unworked hands. His position in the army and the way he looked meant he would never experience a love like Legend had.

Legend knew that Time was the same. Zelda was charming and strong and beautiful but ultimately the exact opposite of what someone like him needed to love. But he wasn’t expecting someone quite so… familiar.

So he avoided her. He threw himself into the chores Time requested they do and tried not to watch the woman who made him feel jolts of electricity every time she smiled. He argued with Warriors, he conversed with Sky and laughed with Wind and ignored the deep, stabbing ache that seemed to have taken residence in his heart.

‘A life on the road for him,’ that’s what ultimately lay in his future. No point getting comfortable in a kitchen that smelt of fresh cooking and horses and something that he could only place as ‘home’.

The Links had many parallels in each of their lives, weirdly so, it didn’t take much for them to figure that out. And the way Legend saw it was that they all led lives that were just different versions of his. What if that hero from the legends hadn’t been defeated? What if his Hyrule hadn’t fallen apart? What if his uncle was still alive?

What if he hadn’t washed up on an island that may or may not have been a dream and fallen in love with a girl who may or may not have been real? What if he had stayed? Would he be there instead in a house that smelt of salt water and baking bread and that distinct scent of ‘home’?

There was no point in wondering. Thinking like that could have you wasting away until before you know it, you’re old and grey and your youth is just a fond memory. Then again, with the life he led, he would be lucky to make it another year.

Best to stay in the present then, a warm stew in front of him, friends by his side, it was almost enough to mend the jagged hole in his heart.

The stars were out that night and the house was warm and safe. It reminded him of melting butter or a soft, heavy blanket, and he should have slept like a log. He should have, but he didn’t.

Thoughts swirled around his head like a whirlpool. The waves of his emotions crashed against the rocks and wore away at his mind until he couldn’t take it anymore. The warmth of Hyrule unconsciously snuggling into his side next to him did nothing to quell the storm inside.

It was a shame to leave the comfort of the warm bed covers and his snoring friends, but the bedroom felt stuffy and suffocating in his current disposition. The stairs creaked as he snuck downstairs and he cringed at the thought of anyone waking and seeing him like this. He was quite possibly falling apart.

But no one woke. He had no doubt they were sleeping like the dead; they hadn’t managed to stay anywhere but the woodland floor these past few days and Hylia knew they needed the rest.

The night was clear and fresh with a slight chill that made him shiver and fold in on himself, tightening his clothes around him. Leaving the warmth of the house behind him, he wandered into the dark, the grass slightly damp beneath his feet, grounding him.

His head was always clearer at night and the stars made his worries seem that little bit smaller. The silence was so still and tranquil that he-

Wait, what was that sound? His ears perked up slightly, but he wasn’t entirely sure if he was imagining the soft sound of singing in the near distance. It was lost in the heavy silence of the night, but it was there, faintly and so very familiar.

He was drawn towards it like a moth to a flame, his heart keeping time with his quickening footsteps. He knew that song, it resided perpetually in his mind, over and over again taunting him with its haunting melody. But now he could hear it in her voice, sweeter and more beautiful than he could have ever imagined.

And then she was in front of him, a little distance away with her back turned, her red hair dark in the moonlight but voice pure as the Goddess herself.

With a flash, he was back there with the clear salty air and the unblemished horizon that fell right off the edge of the world. The sparkling waves, the faint scent of strawberries and the seagulls’ feathers that ruffled in the breeze.

All the pain and heartbreak lifted from his chest for a moment and he felt so light he wouldn’t be surprised if he just floated away, away to a little island that didn’t completely exist but meant everything.

He couldn’t keep in the gentle gasp that escaped his throat; he could barely keep from letting his emotions explode out of him like one of Wild’s bombs.

At the sound, the music stopped, and the woman, Malon, not _her_ , snapped her head round. The silence seemed very loud now that it was empty.

Her posture relaxed when she recognised him.

“Oh, Legend. You scared me!”

“How do you know that song?” he asked, and he didn’t care that it came out abruptly.

“Um, it was passed down from my mother before she died. She was a fantastic musician, but I don’t think she composed that one. I’m not sure where it comes from.”

She looked uncertain and Legend thought he should probably say something to let her know he wasn’t going to murder her in the dark of the night or something, but he simply couldn’t speak.

Her countenance softened when she moved closer and saw his face in the light of the moon. He was crying, he realised. He could feel the tears on his face, silently carving rivers into his skin and he wondered when it was they had begun to fall.

Malon must be thinking how weak he was, he thought, crying out here in front of her for no discernible reason.

“Are- are you okay?” Malon asked gently, standing in front of him. Looking at her now, for the first time properly, she was actually very different to the woman he knew. She was taller for a start, and wider, her hair was shorter and her face slightly harder, maybe from the years she had over Marin…

Because she wasn’t Marin. Marin was gone.

“Oh, Link,” she said softly, and she pulled him in for a hug, like she _knew_. Maybe she did. He imagined she must have seen her fair share of heartbreak and despair being married to a bearer of the hero’s spirit.

Legend wasn’t exactly one for hugs, but he didn’t mind this one. He sunk into it and sobbed.

She didn’t smell like Marin either.

When he pulled away, she was looking at him with... not pity exactly; empathy perhaps.

“I’m sorry,” he said, wiping his eyes and hiding his face the best he could. Goddess this was humiliating, if the others found out… Hylia, Malon better not tell them about this. Though something told him she wouldn’t.

“You’ve all been through so much,” she said with a sad smile, “I can’t imagine what it’s like having the fate of Hyrule on your shoulders.”

He looked at her surprisedly at that, and it suddenly struck him how lonely she must feel here with her husband Goddess knows where, doing Goddess knows what. Just waiting, waiting for him to come home.

It would take a different kind of strength, he thought, not the kind that he and his companions had, fighting with swords and hiding behind shields. No, she had the kind of strength that a cliff needed to stay standing after years of being eroded by waves. He didn’t envy her.

“We all have a job to do,” he replied.

A silence fell between them. The kind that isn’t awkward and not really silent at all because the space is taken up with thoughts that are almost deafening. Malon was looking out at the stars above the woods in the distance and he wondered whether they made her worries seem insignificant too or just made her feel more alone.

“I used to dream that a knight would take me away from here,” she said quietly, and Legend turned to look at her curiously. “I was so certain there must be more to life, more out there and when I first met Link, he was proof that there was.”

He stared in pained wonder at her face, those blue eyes glinting in the moonlight. Her words were so hauntingly familiar and he was once again reminded of the way the wind caught on seagulls’ wings as they flew way above the sea and to the world beyond.

“But now I think I would rather stay here with him,” she continued. “He wasn’t exactly what I imagined back then, not my tall handsome knight, but he’s so much more.”

She turned to Legend, expression unreadable.

“Take care of him, will you? You’re very like him in so many ways, more so than the others, I noticed it the moment I saw you. He cares for you all so much I’m worried he forgets to care for himself. I’d feel much better knowing you were looking out for him.”

Legend was taken aback. This Malon seemed very different to the merry, light-hearted woman he had been trying to avoid all day, but he nodded anyway. Love could do strange things to a person, not all of it good.

In the morning, Legend almost wondered whether the bizarre conversation with Malon had all been a dream, but there was something in the way she looked at him that was different to how she looked at the others. It made him swear to himself he would keep his promise to her, no matter what it took.


End file.
